Vignettes
by hermymad
Summary: A series of little excerpts or might-have-beens from the lives of Jo and Laurie
1. The Laurence Boy

A/N: I've started a series of little excerpts of scenes, moments that LMA didn't expand upon or happenings that were hinted at but never really mentioned in much detail, usually relating to Jo and Laurie, but there may be others. Anyway I love the scene when they first meet and I also love the way it's done in the 1994 movie so I borrowed a little from the two and this is what I came up with. One should after all begin at the beginning. (For those reading Valley of the Shadow, never fear, I will get back to it.) Please leave reviews!

Disclaimer: Mostly belonging to LMA, one line from the 1994 movie and some imagination on my part.

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The Laurence Boy

"So," Laurie stared at the peculiarly frank girl next to him with veiled curiosity, "who were you hiding from when you bounced in here?"

"Oh, gracious!" Jo flushed, but a laugh escaped her nonetheless. "You must think me terrible. Well…" she stood up and after trying vainly to disguise the burn on the back of her frock for a moment gave it up as a lost cause and went back to peep through the curtain. "Do you see that boy there, the one with the red hair?" The Laurence boy appeared at her shoulder and looked in the direction of her discreet pointing.

"The one dancing, or trying to, with the girl in the green dress?"

"Yes," Jo snorted in such an unladylike way that it would have given Meg conniptions. "He looks like a grasshopper having a fit doesn't he? – Oh – blast my tongue!" Too late she realised her comment was impolite at best and covered her mouth in an attempt to hold in any more such uncharitable pronouncements. Her mouth curled into a smile beneath her fingers however when she realised that Laurie was laughing too.

"Yes, he does rather, doesn't he? Or a duck paddling frantically on the pond; his legs seem to be going every which way and his arms are as stiff as boards!" Much to Jo's delight Laurie performed a brief impression of the object of their hilarity and the two of them dissolved into hopeless fits of laughter. They created such a rumpus that they had to back away from the curtain, still clutching at their aching sides, and collapse onto a nearby couch just so that the other guests wouldn't hear them.

Laurie for his own part couldn't believe his luck that this irrepressible and admittedly odd girl seemed so willing to talk to him. Since his arrival in Concord he had been desperate to approach the lively girls in the house next to his own, but hadn't been able to summon the courage. Now that the opportunity had, almost literally, fallen into his lap he meant to make the best of it so if making her laugh meant prancing around like a fool then he would do it. Watching her happiness through the tears streaming down his own face it dawned on him suddenly that he would probably do just about anything to make her laugh like that again. It was an odd thought to occur to him having only just met the girl, but there was something about the notion that he knew to be true.

"Do you like to dance?" He queried once they had recovered their sensibilities slightly.

"Of course," Jo answered, "it's just that dancing doesn't particularly like me. At least, not _that_ sort of dancing," she waved a large hand towards the crowd of gay butterflies swooping around the floor beyond the curtain. "I have no coordination and have a terrible time of it tripping over my own feet constantly. Amy says it is because I've got such long legs and they leave no room left for being civilised on the dance floor. I don't see why dancing should be so very civilised anyhow; it's much more fun to be wild and carefree – oh goodness," her eyes popped as she covered her mouth again, "blast my dratted tongue! I fear I've gone and been shocking again, and I did promise Meg to behave, _and_ I've used the most appalling language too. What would she say if she could hear me? I am sorry Laurie."

"No need to apologise," Jo was relieved to hear him chuckle again. "I'm a hopeless dancer too, I never feel comfortable being so proper and formal, and I never know what to say to a girl if I'm dancing with her. Your way sounds much better."

"Doesn't it?" Jo asked her eyes lighting up with mischief. "Well then Mr Laurence, since we are being improper anyway what say you to a dance?" She leapt up from the couch and extended her hand, a lively tune had sprung up out on the dance floor and she could feel her feet beginning to tap.

"I don't mind if I do Miss March."

With that, the two newly affirmed friends took hands and began stomping up and down along the length of the room, swinging their arms and skipping about in time to the music, but in such a wild manner that had any of the prim matrons beyond the curtain seen them they would certainly have been overcome with shock. Back and forth they pranced, leaping about in an exaggerated manner, swinging each other around and trying not to knock over any of the Gardiner's furniture in the process.

After only a few moments both were flushed, their dark eyes sparkling as they laughed joyfully. Jo could feel her hair beginning to escape from the plait she had forced it into before leaving the house; haphazard tendrils flying loose to jig about her face in time to their steps. She didn't care however and she suspected that Laurie didn't either which only made her like the boy all the more and she redoubled her energy. It was as well that the music in the next room was that much louder for it only just covered the noise of their antics.

Suddenly Jo felt her foot land heavily on something that was shaped all too much like a shoe and not the floor. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She laughed and tried to look contrite at the same time, a feat made all the more complicated by the fact neither of them broke off their bounding steps for a moment. "Meg always makes me take the gentleman's part at home, it's a shame you don't know the lady's part."

"That's alright. Perhaps you could try and teach me it some time," Laurie called back breathlessly, eager for any excuse to see the dishevelled girl in his arms again. His foot did ache a little, but all the tea in China would not have been able to drag the admission from him. "So, do you dance like this often at home?" He asked curiously as they swept round a corner and began springing along the length of another deserted room.

"Oh, yes! Though you mustn't tell Meg I said so. She and Amy would simply _die_ of embarrassment if they thought I had told you."

"That's alright," on impulse Laurie twirled Jo around, which she obliged him in laughingly, "a gentleman never reveals a lady's secrets."

"Well, much as my sisters and Aunt March try, I doubt I'll ever be called a proper lady, but thank you all the same." The end of her sentence ended on a resounding shout as the music suddenly stopped and her words dropped into silence. "Oops," Jo whispered with a giggle, glancing towards the curtain to guess if anyone had heard. She and Laurie crept over to peek through, but it seemed as though they had gotten away with their rowdiness as the hubbub in the next room was louder than anything even two wayward children could produce. Everyone seemed to be milling about trying to find partners for the next dance, congratulating their old partners on the last one or engaging in the sort of small talk that made Jo yawn and fidget. The two retreated back into their hiding space.

"I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!" Laurie exclaimed his youthful face shining with energy and excitement.

"You should visit us sometime my sisters and I are always up to some lark or other. I've often meant to come and invite you when I see you studying at your books, but…"

"Your mother and sisters wouldn't approve?" Laurie was beginning to see a pattern emerging.

"Not particularly. I am trying to be good, it's just… problematic," Jo smirked ruefully.

"Good is overrated, I think."

They smiled at each other for a moment and into the silence the first strains of another dance could be heard breaking out over the chatter outside. Laurie turned to her a smile in his eyes and mischief on his face, one hand outstretched towards her. "So, shall we go again?"


	2. Being Neighbourly

A/N: So here's the second instalment: in which Jo goes to visit Laurie upon finding him unwell, traipses through the snow and meets his grandfather.

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Being Neighbourly

Jo had leapt to her feet with such enthusiasm that had she been of a weaker disposition and less used to galloping wildly about she might have turned her ankle. As it was she wobbled slightly and tried to right herself quickly before either Laurie or his grandfather, who in standing had triggered her comical convulsions, could notice. She was unsure how entirely she succeeded in the endeavour, but if they witnessed it they were both too kind to say anything. To cover her embarrassment Jo proposed it was time she should be getting home. In truth it was the last thing she wanted to do, but she was also loath to outstay her welcome.

Laurie however, wouldn't hear of it. "Oh no! Really? But you must stay a little longer, I wanted to show you the conservatory still. It's a veritable fairyland at this time in the evening. You'll love it, I'm sure," he asserted.

Ever of an enquiring disposition Jo accepted the proposition happily and found to her delight that the conservatory was every bit as wonderful as he had described. Twilight was rapidly creeping upon the sky outside and lamps had been lit at intervals along the long room to guide their way. To Jo each one shimmered like a golden sprite, and she imagined them dancing about amidst the greenery springing forth on every side. Despite the fact that Concord was in the depths of winter and the snow outside clung to the inhabitants' waists as they waded through it, the conservatory was in the full flush of spring. Blossoms dripped from the vines that crept artfully along the walls and everything was lush, green and cheerful. At one point Jo was even convinced she saw a tiny, jewel-bright bird darting between the leaves.

"Oh Laurie," she breathed as she wandered between the avenues of flowers, "it's heavenly."

The Laurence boy, who had been examining her face acutely for any reaction, gave a delighted grin. "It is rather magnificent, isn't it?"

"I could imagine a fairy princess might live in a place such as this, or a woodland nymph -" Jo brought herself up short with a wry chuckle. "Oh dear, pay me no mind. Aunt March is always telling me I should keep my flights of fancy to myself in polite company."

"Well," declared Laurie who found her flights of fancy delightfully refreshing, "I'm not company. I'm your friend if you'll have me, and I'm certainly not polite. Just ask Grandfather." That made her laugh. "Here," struck by a sudden idea the boy reached for some shears lying concealed by the door. Quickly he began snipping off the biggest and best blooms, much to Jo's initial consternation. "Please give these to your mother, and tell her I like the medicine she sent me very much."

"Oh Laurie, you shouldn't have!" She rushed to explain as he looked stricken. "They're beautiful and Marmee will adore them, but shouldn't you have left them on the bush? Won't your grandfather be upset?"

"Oh no, he sha'n't mind a bit of it. He'll be only too pleased for your mother to have them."

"Well, if you're sure." Jo reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Then thank you, you really are a dear." She turned back to return to the parlour too quickly to see the flush that crept into Laurie's cheeks and the pleased, if slightly embarrassed, smile that stole reluctantly onto his lips.

Following her in search of Mr Laurence they soon found him in the drawing room. Laurie was just contemplating the striking figure his grandfather cut silhouetted against the roaring hearth when he almost crashed into Jo who had stopped, stock still, just inside the doorway.

"Jo, whatever is the matter?"

The tall girl smiled as Laurie and his grandfather both turned to regard her curiously. "Sorry Laurie, I was just looking at that terrific piano. Do you play?"

On finding out that he did, she implored him to demonstrate. She would have loved to have the patience to learn, but she knew it would be impossible for her to sit still long enough to be taught. Beth was the musician in the family and she wanted to absorb every note of Laurie's playing so that she could tell her beloved sister about it later. A little abashed, but eager to please Jo, the boy settled himself in front of the grand piano and stretched his fingers in preparation to play.

As the first notes of Beethoven began to dance around the room, he darted a glance at his grandfather. He didn't need to see his face to guess the old man's thoughts; he already knew he disapproved. Still Mr Laurence could at times be unnaturally temperamental about his playing and he didn't want to anger him unnecessarily, especially in front of Jo. His grandfather's mouth was set in a thin line and his eyes were focused intently on the fire, but he didn't look upset, at least not to the extent he had seen him before. He suspected it might be safe to continue.

He was glad he chose to do so, because as the melody took hold Jo settled herself comfortably against the armchair and, her face buried in an armful of flowers, she closed her eyes to listen. He had played this particular tune so many times that he didn't need to look at the music; instead he read every note in the expressions on Jo's face.

He could never tell her as she would simply scoff at him, but Jo March was an uncommonly pretty girl. Not in the conventional way most other girls were, and she wasn't beautiful like her sister Meg, but there was something enchanting about her all the same. The life that radiated from her was infectious, and when she let her guard down the lines of her face became altogether less determined and there was a softness to them that was endearing.

Suddenly she glanced up at him and his playing went awry, one note souring a chord, the chord throwing off the bars around it. Laurie scrambled to salvage the piece and his composure; by the time he had done so Jo was looking back at the flowers, no indication that she had spotted anything amiss and his playing was almost done.

"That was wonderful Laurie!" Jo exclaimed when he had finished. "I wish I was clever enough to play like that!" She was bursting to get home and tell it all to Beth. "Why, I almost believed I was sitting in a concert hall listening to a musician in Boston or New York!"

Laurie made a modest noise and tried to dampen her praise, but Jo, irrepressible as ever, ploughed on. "No, no, you really are that good. Will you ever perform there do you think? I think you could; wouldn't that be magnificent? It was simply…" she searched for an appropriately effusive word, her eyes shining and the bunch of flowers in danger of getting crushed in her ecstasy. "- transporting!"

"That will do, that will do, young lady. Too many sugarplums are not good for him." Mr Laurence broke in, for which Laurie was grateful as he felt his face beginning to burn. He was less enthused by the idea that Jo had to leave, but it _was_ getting late. Besides now that they had fixed on being friends he was sure they would see each other again often.

Out in the hall he bade his new friend farewell and watched her trudging back across the snow towards the cosy lights of Orchard House. Gentle flakes of snow were beginning to swirl around her dark form, glancing against the rosy petals she carefully sheltered against her chest; she looked like something from a story. Right there and then he decided that Jo March was the sort of rare creature that he would know until he was old and grey. He smiled softly to himself, if nothing else she would certainly make his life a lot more interesting.

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A/N #2: This one was less an omission from the book which needed to be filled and more that I really just wanted to right about Laurie watching Jo at their first, more formal, meeting. On another note, if you hadn't realised already, the chapter titles correspond to the chapter they are taken from in the book (and hopefully should be in the right order!) Hope you enjoy and please do review again!


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